The best way to experience Sonic Adventure?

Here's my modlist:

Obviously not all of these are strictly necessary for a vanilla experience, and some of them are old enough I'm not entirely certain where to find them (that DC camera angles mod in particular is from maybe five or six years ago and while a cursory googling of ZoядkдяoZ does bring up SADX stuff, I don't see this specific mod anywhere), but the amount of shit you can customize in the game now is incredible, and I highly recommend playing around with stuff like the new tricks, extra SET layouts and physics swap mods to create an experience that goes a little bit beyond what you'd get from vanilla SADX anyway.

 

So I've finally got to the part of the video where I talk about the differences between the DX and DC version...

As a result I went into the mod manager and turned off the DC related mods...

https://xcancel.com/DaveLuty/status/1433353601515151363

....I know... This isn't new... But until you literally see it with your own eyes, running on your own system... You are literally not prepared for the difference, it's God Damn magic!

 

lol I imagine Big's Ice Cap of all things was on the lowest of the low in terms of porting priorities. Vanilla DX can't even get its default lighting looking good- Big's version stood no chance.

It is funny though how in the end they didn't try at all. I can just imagine the devs thinking to themselves "so yeah we ran out of time, but eh it's Big, so fuck it." Might also explain why the decorations at his home are unanimated in DX.

 

Lol well...

The reason why I used Big wasn't to show off how bad the port was... I decided I wanted to use ice cap because I really like the deep blue atmosphere...

Why I decided to use Big is for the following reasons.

1: His eyes have that glowing effect which looks really cool in this stage.

2: It's easier to 'walk' with him. The others are more prone to run which makes it harder to get good enough footage.

Although one thing that I did notice which I'm unsure if it's down to mods or just random. The big boulder spawns in a different place when I turn off the DC mods.

 

Ok so these mods look pretty great, but is betterSADX (and their equivalents) a better experience than just running vanilla Sonic Adventure in Redream at 1080p (or 4k)?

 

Yes because the game is in 60fps and you can skip cutscenes.

 

About the 60fps, do any mods fix certain animations running twice as fast, or certain durations lasting only half as long (like the chameleon badnik)?

 

Yes, those get fixed as well, and there are even additional mods to fix other, more minor things, such as one that fixes Sonic teleporting onto the Tornado at the end of Red Mountain.

 

If you want to play the Dreamcast version on an emulator, there's a project I started recently that aims to improve the experience and introduce some enhancements similar to the PC version with mods. This is specifically for the flycast emulator (PC and Android) as it's the only DC emulator at the moment that runs the game without slowdown when the 60 FPS hack is enabled, and because the widescreen hack depends on reicast/flycast's implementation of it which doesn't exist in other emulators.

Sonic Adventure Image Builder (Sonic Adventure DC-HD)

This is a patcher that creates a modified SA1 image with a few improvements that are added via mini-"mods" that you can toggle. For example:

• 16:9 widescreen without model clipping or HUD stretching.
• The game runs at 60 FPS during gameplay without framerate-related glitches.
  
• You can skip all videos, not just the intro.
  
• You can skip cutscenes... Sort of. By holding B before a cutscene loads you can prevent the game from playing it.
  
• With the keyboard and some controllers there's an issue with Sonic "drifting" and being unable to run in a straight line. This patcher has a fix for that.
  
• Minor bugfixes such as object placement, Z fighting fixes, texture errors etc.
  
• Better level and object draw distance.
  
• Some mods for the PC version of SADX are being ported or recreated within the DC version's limits. Other SADXPC mods may have Dreamcast adaptations in the future.

It also includes some optional cheats for convenience, such as easier fishing for Big and all characters unlocked in Adventure Mode.

Download
How to use

Is this better than the PC version with mods? It depends on what you want from the game. If you just want THE original but with some advantages of the PC version ported over, this is about as close as you can get right now. This is the original game with all its strengths and weaknesses (some mitigated with the patches), made before any of the "DX" changes were introduced to it. You can also play it on your phone or tablet since flycast has an Android version - I've tried it on my phone and it runs amazing, 60 FPS and everything. On the other hand, if you like the Chao system introduced in DX, the new character models or Mission Mode, or your PC specs may be a concern for running a Dreamcast emulator, or you just want to explore the possibilities with mods, then the PC version is a better choice.

Some screenshots

This project started out of my interest in making a better 60 FPS hack for the Dreamcast version and gradually grew into a set of general QoL patches for SA1. It wasn't going too well and I was about to abandon it but Exant came up with some custom SH4 assembly that dealt with the parts I got stuck with, and the project came back to life. There are a lot of things that can be done to make SA1 better, unfortunately it's also much harder and less fun (for me at least) to hack than the PC version, and even with an emulator there are limitations to be taken into account, so it probably won't see major level or character replacements, but some smaller level and model edits are still possible. I personally use it as a "super vanilla" version of the game, as in, this is what I'd run if I wanted to play the original rather than mess around with it.

 

The best way to experience any game is the original version on original hardware, like god intended.

 

I honestly think the DC original is the best way to play adventure, component or vga, the dreamcast and its controller add a lot to how the game feels and I say that not just because I have good memories about it.

 

Yeah you're not getting the true experience without the cord sticking out the bottom of the controller and getting in the way.

For true immersion, simulate the wonderful late-90s atmosphere by eating bad snack food and playing Nirvana music to drown out the sound of your parents fighting.

If you're not doing it this way, you are doing a disservice to yourself, the game, gaming as a medium, and Jesus himself.

 

Reminds me of the Crash Dimension

 

Don't forget to also find a way to simulate that grinding noise some Dreamcast units would make and the battery noise that can get really high pitched sometimes.

There really is no other way to experience it.

 

GD-ROM drive noise sure but I don't recall battery noise at all unless you mean a VMU that beeps on dead or no batteries installed when plugging in a VMU or turning the console on.

Seriously add the Dreamcast logo start up when you turn on the console with the lid closed and the SEGA License screen when a disc boots while we're at it... I mean you could buy a Dreamcast 2nd hand as well...

As far as Dreamcast GD-ROM drive noise goes, I don't miss it when playing games but I remember watching Sonic Adventure recorded to VHS long ago (2000's to be exact) and it was a little weird when the load screens would come up and there was no GD-ROM drive noise to go with it.

 

Honestly... I grew up playing it (pirated) on my computer, but damn I'd kill to try it out on a small TV in my room with a friend. SA2 as well. The aesthetic and overall vibe sounds so comforting.

 

Gotta be honest, the Dreamcast controller isn’t the most comfortable thing in the world to use. The handles have these sharp edges for some baffling reason, and the analog stick has this really annoying feature where it will snap to the nearest 45 degree increment. Not to mention, they wear out pretty easily over time, it gets very loose and doesn’t center as easily.

I played SA1 on a Dreamcast back when it was new, so I don’t think it’s one of those “you just had to be there” type of things — I was there, and I’m not blinded by nostalgia.

 

As someone who went straight from Genesis to Dreamcast, I found the DC controller significantly more comfortable than the completely flat (or nearly so) controllers of the Genesis, or NES and SNES. I distinctly remember thinking it was the most comfortable controller I'd ever held at the time. Granted other controllers since have done even better, but still.

 

I'm not old enough to have "been there" and I only bought a Dreamcast for the first time three-ish years ago, but I find the Dreamcast controller decently comfortable, if a bit odd. Honestly the only real complaint I have is that the triggers are set further back than I'd expect. The analog stick, d-pad, etc. all feel pretty nice to me. There are certainly more comfortable controllers, but I don't fault the Dreamcast for much.